The Life as It Is
by Rondabunny
Summary: Jenny tries to understand her feeling to Tommy and she starts protecting a girl from the neighbourhood.
1. Chapter 1

**The Life as It Is**

**By Rondabunny**

**Part 1**

**Jenny Reilly****:**

It's nine o'clock in the evening. This day was like any others. Customers came, ordered food, ate and left the diner. Dad was cooking and I was doing my job: serving, talking to some of our regular customers, mopping the floor and signing checks. This is all I do. Cleaning and serving is my destiny. Tommy didn't come today. Sean is still in the hospital and I had no time to see Mrs. Donnelly. There were too many clients today which were unusual for Thursdays. Nevertheless we coped with everything great as we usually do. I feel a little bit tired. I need to get the garbage out and to count the money. Father has already gone to sleep. It was a long day. Ok. Garbage.

Jenny took two big bags with litter and went to the back yard where the dustbin was. She was surprised to see a company of four kids at her back yard.

"_Come on, redhead. It was a deal, you've lost. __Don't dilly-dally!"_ one of the boys said.

"_I'm not! There are too many buttons here."_ a girl's voice muttered.

"_Maybe we__ can help?"_ the older boy smirked.

**Jenny Reilly:**

Who are they? What are they doing here? Is that a girl?.. Undressing?.. Jesus Christ!

"_Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?"_ Jenny asked furiously, dropping the bags on the ground and rushing to the company. The older boy stood in front of the girl. She hid right behind his back. Two other boys were the twins. They also made a step forward to cover the girl. _"Toby McLaughlin, Barry and Patrick Kelly, very nice!" _Jenny recognized the boys. She seized one of them by the collar and pushed him aside. There was a girl. She was wearing a tank top and jeans. Her shirt and jacket were lying on the ground with her socks and boots. She was standing barefoot on the snow. Her marble skin was covered with goose pimples. It was snowing, so her beautiful, curly red hair was in snowflakes. The girl was shivering. _"You, take your clothes and get inside! And you three are in a big trouble!" _Jenny looked at three boys and the poor girl who gathered her clothes with shaky hands.

"_It's not what you think!"_ Toby, the oldest of the company, said. _"We had a bet and she'd lost it!"_

"_I don't give a damn what it was! But you're a great moron to make the girl undress when it's 15 below zero! What did you want to look at? She's too small to have anything you were dreaming about!" _Jenny was really angry at three bastards standing in front of her.

"_Hey, we didn't think anything like that!" _the boy retorted.

"_Sure! You asked her to take off her clothes just for fun! I tell everything your parents! Maybe they'll make you think before you do __anything really stupid!" _She turned and headed towards the entrance throwing the bags into the dustbin along the way.

She came in the diner. The girl was fighting desperately with the laces on her boots. Her fingers became stiff and she tried hard to make them work. Jenny approached her, kneeled and laced her boots. _"What's your name?"_ she asked the kid.

"_Thanks."_ The child said. _"It doesn't matter. I'm leaving."_ She put on her jacket.

"_You won't go anywhere until I __you tell me your name and drink some hot tea because you look blue like ice." _said Jenny standing up.

"_Ice isn't blue. It's white."_ The girl muttered.

"_Are you playing a smart one? I didn't see that few minutes ago when you were standing nearly naked, barefoot on the snow.__ Didn't your mom tell you that it's bad to undress in front of the boys." _The woman poured tea into a cup, put some sugar and a slice of lemon and put the cup in front of the girl. _"Drink it or you turn into an iceberg."_

"_Thanks." _The child mumbled taking hot cup in her hands to warm them. Jenny put a plate with a piece of cake on the table.

"_How old are you?"_ she asked looking at the girl.

"_Eleven,"_ the girl answered sipping the tea.

Jenny was staring at the girl trying to remember where she'd seen such red hair. She definitely saw it before. It was a woman. Oh, yes, it was the woman from the neighborhood. She came into the diner with different men once or twice, always drunk.

"_Are you__ daughter of Kaitlin Parker?" _She asked screwing up her eyes.

"_What if so?"_said the redhead indifferently.

**Jenny Reilly****:**

Poor kid! Mom's a drunkard. No wonder that the girl wanders along the streets with boys and takes off her clothes in the yard.

"_Why don't you eat the cake?" _

"_I'm not hungry."_ The girl answered.

"_Did you eat anything today?"_

"_Yes, at school."_

"_It's half past nine already."_She took a look at the girl. She was little and skinny and she was still shaking. Jenny made a sandwich with ham and cheese and gave it to the child.

"_I said I'm not hungry."_said the girl looking at the sandwich.

"_Eat, please, don't be silly. Look at you nothing but skin and bones. I'm interested what were you doing at nine o'clock at the back yard with the boys?!"_Jenny asked taking away several glasses and placing them on the shelf.

"_It was a bet. Toby said that he'd steal a cake from the confectioner's shop at the corner of the Dawny Street. We made a deal. If he didn't do that he would dance five minutes in the snow in his boxers. If he succeeded I would do that." _The child told taking a big bite of the sandwich.

"_And whose smart idea was that?"_ Jenny smirked.

"_Toby's."_ spoke the girl with her mouth full.

"_If I see you once again taking off your clothes before boys I'll beat you black and blue. Do you understand?"_ Jenny warned the kid.

"_Yes, clear as crystal."_She said taking the last bite. After a few minutes she thanked Jenny and was ready to leave.

"_Wait!"_ Jenny took her coat and put it on.

"_I can go alone. I'm not a three year old."_ She frowned.

"_I would not be so sure judging by your behavior."_ Jenny said sarcastically and let the girl past herself. _"What's your name?"_

"_And yours?"_ the kid asked back.

"_Jenny Reilly."_

"_Erin Parker."_

"_Is your mom at home?"_

"_Who knows__?"_ She shook her tiny shoulders.

Jenny accompanied the kid to the house. She lived in the slums as everyone else here. This part of the district was the poorest one.

"_Here is my house."_ Erin said stopping next to a dark, grey, multistoried building.

Jenny looked around and then at the kid: _"Listen, maybe you'll come tomorrow after school and help me at the diner a little?" _

"_Sure." _The child nodded.

"_Till tomorrow then." _

"_Fine. Bye."_The girl disappeared in the ugly building.

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Life as It Is**

**By Rondabunny**

**Part 2**

**Erin Parker:**

What time is it? It's twenty five to six in the morning. You have to stand up! No, it's cold there and here is so warm. Come on, loafer, stand up, boil some water! You know as teacher says a girl must smell of soap and not reek. It is cold in the bathroom. I don't want to take off the clothes! You must or everybody will name you a dirty one. Does it matter? Today Toby will be boasting at every corner that he's seen me naked. Who's responsible for it? I don't wanna go to school. Do you want to stay here all day watching them drinking and making softhead comments? I can go look for tins maybe I'll get some money for them. What for? She'll take them and she'll buy herself another drink. Pointless… besides it's cold outside to search for tins. It's warm at school and you can eat something for lunch. Their free lunches are disgusting! Since when are you such a milksop? Yesterday's sandwich was good! Maybe you can have another after school. The lady asked you to come, remember? All right! Then it is school today. I need to stand up. Damn it! It's freezing!

The girl jumped out off the bed and put on her thick sweater and jeans. It was cold. She shivered when her bare-feet connected with the floor. She put on her slippers and rushed to the kitchen. Erin filled a bucket with water and put it on the stove to boil. There were a lot of dirty dishes to wash up. She boiled a kettle of water and washed all the plates, glasses and other utensils. When the water in the bucket was hot enough for washing, she took the bucket and went to the bathroom. She poured some hot water into a basin and mixed it with cold. The girl washed herself quickly and dried. There was no much to eat. She found some fried potatoes in a frying pan which stuck to it and a loaf of bread that was nibbled at but she made a cup of tea and ate this bread with the potatoes. Her mother was sleeping. The kid prepared her bag and covered the sleeping woman with the blanket. She didn't wake up just snored. Erin put on the jacket and a cap, took the bag and went outside.

Toby and the company were already waiting for her on the way to school.

"_Hey, redhead! What did she do to you yesterday? We have been waiting for you for half an hour and then we went home."_ Toby asked with a smirk on his face.

"_She gave me a lecture on the topic that 'all boys are evil'." _Erin snapped back.

"_It was you who didn't believe that I can steal the cake!"_ he said walking next to the girl.

"_Yeah, it was a big mistake. I apologize.__" _

"_Do you officially recognize you've lost?" _he asked understanding his superiority.

"_Yes, but I won't dance naked in the snow. Maybe I'll steal something too?" _

"_Deal! Twenty bucks today after school."_

"_Hey, it's too many!"_ she refused.

"_Then I'll be waiting for you at a vacant lot__ to watch the dance."_ He patted her on the shoulder.

"_Moron!" _She shook his hand from her shoulder and went fast to school.

**Reilly's Diner**

Jenny was busy the whole morning. Customers came and she served them. She knew nearly all of their customers. People liked the diner and they came here to chat, to drink a cup of tea and to read a newspaper. She recognized one of them immediately. It was Mr. McLaughlin, Toby's father. He was a worker at a factory and sometimes he came here with his friends to take a beer and relax for a while.

"_Hi, Jenny! A brown ale and a sandwich with ham, please."_ He ordered. _"How are you?"_

"_Great, Mr. McLaughlin. How's your wife?" _she asked him and gave the change to the other customer.

"_She's fine, thank you." _He said taking his beer.

"_I saw your son yesterday with Kelly boys.__ They were making fun of a girl who was much younger."_ Jenny said pouring the tea for an old man who sat at a table.

"_What! My son mocks at small children! I knock the nonsense out of his head! I make him respect everyone! Son-of-the-bitch!"_ He told angrily.

When lunch time was over Jenny put on her jacket and took some sandwiches: _"Dad, I'll go to the hospital. If a red-haired kid comes, tell her to wait for me."_

"_Ok. Jenny." _Mr. Reilly grumbled.

The classes were over. Erin walked along the street and heard girls beside her shout: _"Redhead, redhead, your mom's killed dead!" _

**Erin Parker: **

How smart. Interesting how much time it took them to rhyme that! Idiots! I need to find 20 $ or I have to keep my promise. What a dumb I am to make that stupid bet! Ok. Think! Where can you get the money?

"_Redhead, redhead, your mom's killed dead!"_ the voices sounded behind her. Suddenly a snowball hit her back and three girls giggled. Erin ignored it. She didn't turn around. She didn't say anything. She kept walking. The girl got used to it. Nobody liked her at school. She was bright and she ignored girls at all. Her friends were the boys. She gave them to copy off her homework, sometimes helped during the test because Barry was really desperate at sciences. The boys were twelve but she was in their class. It was good for both parties. She helped them with the lessons they protected her from the stupid ones like those girls behind her back. Toby was the head of their band. He was the oldest of them and he made the rules. They played along and she was always the one who disagreed with him. Now she has lost and she had to pay or she'd be eliminated from the band. It meant problems at school.

**Reilly's Diner:**

The girl came inside and found an old man behind the counter. She asked for Jenny Reilly but he said that she wouldn't be at work today, so the child left the diner. Erin didn't know what to do next. She walked lazily down the street when she noticed a limping man with a huge wallet in the back-pocket of his jeans. The wallet attracted her attention. She stopped to think what to do next. Suddenly the girl hastily approached the man and stroke against him as if it was an accident. She apologized but at this very moment his hand patted against his back-pocket and he yelled: _"Come here, you little bitch!" _She ran as fast as she could. Everything happened within few seconds. She ran pushing the passers-by along the way. The man was following her. It was an open road in front of her. She turned back to see how close he was. She didn't see a truck turning round the corner. Erin was ready to make the next step on the road but a strange force pulled her back on the pavement right at the time when the truck was passing the road. It nearly ripped her jacket.

"_Are you crazy!" _a female voice shouted. The girl tried to set free but whoever was holding her, was holding with all her might. She saw the man approaching full of anger.

"_Hold her, Jenny! I'll teach that fucking bitch a lesson!"_ Jimmy was going fast in their direction.

"_Let me go!"_ the child cried trying to set free. Jenny shook Erin and took the wallet from girl's hands. Jimmy already lifted up his fist to smack the kid, but Jenny hid the girl behind her back still holding her by the jacket and gave him the wallet.

"_Is it yours?"_ she asked simply. He took the money and put it in the pocket.

"_If I see__ you once again you'll be dead!"_ he shouted at the child and turned away to go.

Jenny faced the girl: _"What on earth you think you were doing?!"_

"_Let me go!"_ Erin hissed.

"_You're coming with me!"_ She took the girl by the hand and headed to the diner.

"_The old bastard in the diner said that you won't be there today!"_ the child disagreed and immediately got her lumps. _"Hey! What was that for?!" _She barked out rubbing her head.

"_The old man is my father and if you ever say something inappropriate about him, I hit you again!"_ Jenny said angrily.

"_How am I supposed to know?!"_ Erin muttered. They entered the diner. Jenny took the girl's bag and asked to help her in the diner. She fed the kid beforehand. Erin cleaned the tables and mopped the floor. She did everything neatly as if she was doing this all her short life.

"_Fine, Erin. It'__s seven o'clock. You should go home and do your homework."_ Jenny told the kid.

"_Tomorrow's Saturday. I can do my lessons tomorrow."_ Erin refused.

"_What do you need the money for?"_ Reilly asked.

"_I have to pay Toby 20 bucks or I have to keep my promise and dance in the snow." _She answered quietly.

"_Here it is. And don't make bets with the boys!"_ Jenny gave the kid 20 dollars.

"_No thanks. I don't need your money. I have mine."_ She took 20 $ from her pocket.

"_Where did you get them?"_ the woman asked looking at the child with surprise.

"_I took it from the wallet of that furious, limping man__."_

Jenny rolled her eyes: _"If you ever steal again I promise I'll tear off your arms!"_

"_I think I should be scared."_ Erin said with sarcasm. She took her bag and was ready to leave.

"_You can come tomorrow after you do your homework."_ Jenny told her.

"_No, I can't. I have to do a lot at home. Sorry."_ She refused the proposal.

"_Maybe Monday after school?"_

"_It'll be great. Thanks."_ Erin left the diner.

**8 p.m. Somewhere at a deserted ****construction site**

It was dark. It was January outside and the only thing that spread the light at this place was the moon above. Erin walked trying to pace quietly not to make much noise. She saw a silhouette near a broken concrete slab.

"_Hi."_

"_I thought you wouldn't come!"_ the boy said.

"_Here's your money."_ She stretched her hand with the money in her fist.

"_Keep it."_

"_I won't take off my clothes. Here's the money."_ She insisted.

"_I said keep it! We're even. __You kept your promise yesterday! I thought you'd be scared and wouldn't come here. It was a mistake." _Toby told her and put his hands into the pockets.

"_Sorry to disappoint you."_ She replied.

"_I told Barry and Pat to keep the yesterday's scene a secret or I thrash them.__"_

"_Thanks."_ She said simply.

"_You know I'm glad that I don't have sisters 'cause if I had one like you it would be a disaster."_

"_Why?"_

"_Sometimes you behave like an idiot. If I saw my sister undressing in front of a guy, I would kill her right there." _He confessed.

"_It was your necessary conditions."_ Erin replied.

"_I'm sorry. I thought it would freak you out. I behaved like a jerk."_

"_Yeah, fine. I go home. It's freezing." _She said kicking a little stone.

"_Can you promise me something?"_ he asked walking next to her.

"_W__hat?"_

"_Don't behave like a boy. You don't need this and always think twice before you do anything."_

"_Sure, __Satan rebuking his sin__!"_ She exclaimed.

"_What__ did you say?"_ He made a snowball and threw it at her playfully. She ran.

They played snowballs along the way home…

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Life as It Is**

**By Rondabunny**

**Part 3**

Toby came home late. He found his father sitting at a table in the kitchen waiting for him. His mother was already asleep in the bedroom. He took off the coat when his father called him.

"_Where've you been?"_ Mr. McLaughlin asked strictly.

"_I was out with Kelly guys."_ He said.

"_I want to know, where have you been the day before yesterday? What have you been doing at the Dawny Street and why the hell a girl was with you?! "_ Mr. McLaughlin shouted. Toby stood in silence. He didn't know what to say. _"Why don't you answer?! You have lost your tongue, huh?!" _His father stood up. It was a big man of forty. He was angry. He took his son by the collar and slapped him hard across the face. Toby tried to escape but his dad gripped him firmly. _"You're stealing cakes, you making fun of little kids! Coward!"_ the big man showered blows upon his son_. "Do you want to end like you stupid brother?! Do you want to be shot in the middle of the day? This is what you want!" _The fists hit the boy in the back. The torture lasted for five minutes. These were the longest and the most painful minutes for a thirteen year old boy.

"_Dad, I'm sorry! I won't do that again."_ He cried. His face was a mix of blood and tears. He begged his father to stop the execution. Mr. McLaughlin let his son go. Toby rushed to his room that moment he was sure, he would kill that cunning girl. She hadn't said him a word. The redhead must pay for his humiliation.

The alarm clock rang at 4 a.m. in Parker's apartment. It was a small apartment of two small adjoining rooms, a tiny kitchen and a bathroom. Erin's room was tidy. All her things were at their places. She had a key of the room. It was her dad who made the door lock. Now it protected her from the drunk-guys who were constant guests at their apartment. The second and the last room was a mess. It smelled of wine, whiskey and vomit. The bottles, crumbs and litter were everywhere. The table was covered with red and brown stains. Kitchen was a disaster. Glasses, dirty plates and food debris were everywhere. Floor was sticky of soda or whatever that was spilt on it. Mrs. Parker was sleeping on a little sofa in the corner of the living room. It was still dark outside but Erin had to clean all the mess before a social worker would come. Where was no hot water, so the girl had to heat two big buckets to wash the plates and clean the kitchen floor. She washed and cleaned the whole morning. Her mother was sound asleep. She came late that night and she was too drunk to hear anything. Erin made everything in her might to make the apartment look tidy. She had one big problem to sober her mother and make her take a bath. She was just an eleven year-old girl and her mother was a 5 feet 10 inches tall woman, who was unpredictable especially when she was drunk. The girl put a pan with cold water on the floor next to an old armchair where she was sitting and waiting for her mother to wake up. She prepared the plan a long time ago. She calculated everything completely. Her mother stood up and went to the bathroom. The girl immediately took the pan with water, ran into the bathroom and splashed it on the poor woman. Of course the woman yelled but the child hurried off the bathroom closing the door on a door bolt which was screwed on to the door at the very bottom. It was very easy to kick it and the door would be closed. Mrs. Parker rushed to the door and started to knock against it cursing and warning the kid that it would be her last day on this planet. Erin just shouted that there is a bucked with hot water and clean clothes in the bathroom to change. The girl locked the entrance door and went to the groceries to buy some food.

**Reilly's diner****:**

Tommy has just left the diner leaving Jenny in deep thoughts.

**Jenny Reilly: **How could he even think of it? Why? How could he agree to arrange the funeral repast at Firecracker? I knew, his insane! He killed two mob bosses because of Sean. Now he wants to bring the Irish mob to their place. Dockey will be there. He'd kill him. Ok, Jenny. Life sucks you always knew it, please, don't think just do your job. What do we need for the funeral? Hot and cold snack, salads, sandwiches, rolls… Fine.

"_Dad, __I'm going to arrange Huey's funeral repast. We need to prepare everything."_ Jenny told her father.

"_I don't know what about Huey's funeral or whatever you do. I'm going to serve our clients and I don't want you to go to the funeral either."_ He grumbled.

"_Dad, it's Huey we are talking about. He helped us several times, why do act like that?"_ she asked him surprised.

"_Huey was like any other man in this neighborhood. You don't know the reasons he helped us and you don't know the conditions, so don't judge me!"_ he looked at her strictly.

"_You want me to ignore Dockey's request?"_

"_No, do as you wish but I won't stir my finger to help the Donnellys or Dockey!" _he told her and started to prepare the pepper eggs for the client. Jenny shook her head and called Samson for help.

Erin returned from the groceries with two big paper bags. She put the food in the fridge and started to cook dinner. Her mother was still trapped in the bathroom. The woman yelled, warned the girl, begged and pleaded but the girl didn't listen. She knew that if she opened the door her mom would go and drink again. Today she had to be sober. The social workers told her mother that the woman could loose her child if she didn't stop drinking. This worried the girl. This meant they could loose the child benefit and there wouldn't be any money to pay for the apartment. She was afraid to loose this life. Erin was free, nobody controlled her, she could take care of herself, but sometimes it was so sad that nobody was interested in her existence. The social workers came. They looked about the apartment. It was tidy, dinner was ready.

"_Where's your mother."_ One of the women asked Erin.

"_She's in the bathroom. I'll call her." _The girl kicked the door bolt open, the social workers didn't notice anything. She opened the door. Mrs. Parker looked approximately well. She was in fresh clothes, her red hair was combed. Black circles under her eyes showed sleepless night and her red swollen face revealed too many bottles of whiskey, but now she was sober. She talked to the social workers. She told them she would find a job. Everything went well. Two women left the apartment. Erin remained alone with her mother…

**The Firecracker:**

Dockey asked Jenny to help him take the food from the basement and she followed him downstairs. It was a stupid thing to do. Dockey's guard was already there.

"_Jenny, I thought your father taught you to tell the truth, but maybe I was mistaken I don't know. How do you think where was Tommy that night, 'cause I'm pretty sure he wasn't with you at the hospital."_ Dockey went closely to Jenny. _"You're a pretty girl. I don't want your beauty to fade, do you?"_ he said touching her lips with his rough fingers. She stood their in silence scared to death, but she didn't show her fear.

"_Dockey, I don't know what __you are talking about."_ She said taking a step back.

"_I was always curious, why do pretty girls like you always fall for bad boys like Tommy? It's nature, isn't it? But ask yourself, are you ready to die for him?"_ he mocked. _"You know anything can happen. Do you think he'll die for you? You're nothing for him. His mother and his brothers will always be the first in his life list. You're just another beautiful woman he wants to possess. So, would you tell me where he was that night?"_ he asked. He stood so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face.

"_He and Kevin were at the hospital with the family." _She said starring at Dockey's eyes.

"_Ok. Earl, call Tommy ask him to come down here."_ He told the man and sat in an old leather armchair.

**Parker's apartment:**

"_You think you can treat your mother like that?!"_ Mrs. Parker slapped hr daughter hard across the face. The blow was so hard that Erin fell down. "You think you can trap me in the bathroom and mock at me!" the woman yelled. She took the child by her hair and started to beat her furiously. The girl didn't shed a tear. She put up her arms to protect her head from the blows. She knew she would pay for the trick, but she won the battle. The social workers left them be. The woman was yelling at her and blows were raining down. It hurt badly. Erin hissed and gritted her teeth not to moan. Then her mother was tired she left the child on the floor. Erin went to her room wiping blood from her face, she took the jacket and went outside.

Toby was busy all day helping his father. It was evening already, so he was waiting outside Erin's house. He cherished all day the idea of revenge. He saw the girl running out off the building. He called her, but she didn't stop. He ran after her.

"_Hey, redhead! Don't run, because I'll catch you anyway and I knock the nonsense out of your head. Traitor!"_ he followed her. The distance between them got shorter and shorter. He grabbed her jacket and pulled back to make the girl stop and face him. The pursuit made him wild, he wanted to hit her.

"_Leave me alone!"_ she screamed. He forced her to look at him and all his rage was gone in a second. _"Let me go!"_ she begged not hiding the tears anymore.

"_Erin, what's happened? Who did this to you?"_ the boy was shocked. She had a black eye, bruised eyebrows and her lips were bleeding. _"Is it her?"_ he asked.

"_Please, let me go!"_ she cried. Instead of letting her go he embraced the girl. He held her tight. She resisted his embrace for a minute but then she began sobbing in his arms.

"_It's ok. It's ok. Everything's gonna be fine."_ He tried to soothe the child.

**Samson's room:**

Jenny was making love to Samson. It was a long day. She was too tired to think of everything that happened today. She wanted to relax, she wanted to feel alive. She wanted to forget this day. She wanted to forget Tommy, to forget the basement and Dockey with his axe. She wanted to hurt Tommy like he hurt her by killing those men, by becoming like them. She kissed Samson and felt nothing. She faked her orgasm to make him stop moving, to make him leave her alone. Inside her soul was emptiness. She used the guy to do a bad turn to Tommy. She didn't feel anything just emptiness around…


	4. Chapter 4

**The Life as It Is**

**Chapter 4**

**by Rondabunny**

Jenny wasn't sure what she did last night. She was scared of Dockey and she was horrified of what she did. Everything was stupid. To sleep with the man, whom she didn't even respect just to hurt Tommy was dumb. She realized it in the morning, no she realized it earlier when they made love. Could she say, that what they did was love? No, it was dirty and she was ashamed. The life was hard on her. Her husband disappeared, Tommy didn't pay much attention and her father always was against their relationship. She was confused, that why Jenny left Samson and went to the church to think about a cess box she was living in.

**Erin's place:**

The girl woke up late. Her face was swollen, her right eye was half opened, her lips were bruised and all her body was sore. Yesterday she decided not to go to school, 'cause if the teacher saw her that way, everything she did would be ruined. She woke up only because someone unstoppable hammered at her door. She lazily stood up on the cold floor and went to open the damn door. She knew who it was.

"_Are you deaf, lazy bitch!"_ Mrs. Parker greeted her daughter. _"Look at you! Told you not to play with boys!"_

"_Yeah, right! You don't even remember," _the girl hissed.

"_I do remember everything! If you ever… Listen to me, if you ever again lock me in the bathroom, I'll kill you with my own hands, do you understand?" _she pointed index finger in Erin's chest.

"_Go, buy me the cigarettes!"_ the woman demanded.

"_What about the money?"_ the girl retorted.

"_How old are you?" _

"_Mom, you should know it better. You were the one who gave birth to me." _Erin replied.

A second later she felt a slap on her face smashing her sore lip again. It started to bleed.

"_You think, you're smart, huh? You think, you can speak to me in such a way? I'll teach you how to respect your parents, who brought you up! Look at you! You're not a kid anymore. Yesterday you tried to fight with me, your mother! You haven't apologized yet! How dare you ask me about the money? If you're strong enough to fight with your mother you're strong enough to find the money. Go and get the cigarettes! I don't care what you do but don't come without them either!"_ she yelled at the girl, who stood looking at her disheveled mother wiping the blood from her lip.

**Somewhere on the way to school:**

Barry and Pat saw Toby approaching them. His cap was nearly covering his eyes because his face didn't look much better than Erin's. He shook hands with boys, who greeted them with a whistle.

Barry said: _"Hey, dude! What's happened? You look like a mashed tomato!"_

Patrick joked: _"Yeah, ketchup looks better. It's not so many-colored as you are!"_

"_I was helping my old man and fell from a ladder." _He lied.

"_Of course! Liar! You fell from a ladder right on your face!"_ Patrick smirked.

"_Shut up, jerk or your face will be the same as mine!"_ Toby smiled showing his fist to the twin.

"_Where's the red-head? It's 10 minutes to nine, we'll be late for the first lesson and she's never late."_ Barry said worriedly.

"_She won't come today. She's got a flu, said she'd stay at home. Let's go."_ Toby replied.

"_And you know this because?"_ Patrick asked suspiciously.

"_Saw her in the street yesterday when I went to my uncle, she didn't look very well."_ Toby explained.

"_Ok. Let's go. I don't want Mr. Fredrick to bark at me again for being late. I already have one E for the test-paper, one more negative mark and dad goes crazy."_ Barry said and three boys hurried to school.

**In a shop:**

Erin let her messy, curly hair down, pulled the cap over her eyes and twisted the scarf over the neck and covered her bruised lips. It looked as if it was very cold outside. Instead it was snowing again and it wasn't more than 5 degrees below zero. She didn't have any money to buy the cigarettes, so, she pretended she was choosing something. She started to examine the goods. Suddenly Dokey and his guys came to the shop. The girl hid behind the shelf. Dockey threatened the owner. They've been talking for ten minutes but Erin heard the cries of the poor man and his apologies. He asked about his brother's death. The girl tried not to breathe. When men got outside, she took two packs of cigarettes and rushed out as fast as she could. She got her breath back when she was far from the shop and the howling shop-assistant.

**Somewhere on the way to Reilly's diner:**

Jenny walked slowly back to the diner. She was at Firecracker but Tommy wasn't there. Jimmy already knew everything and she was pretty sure rumors here go faster than people. The woman didn't care about the rumors, she was afraid of Tommy's reaction. She wanted to hurt him, she hurt herself instead. The life was complicated, though she had to be strong. Everyone made mistakes, she wasn't an exception. Jenny dragged herself along when she saw something familiar in an alley. Yes, a little, skinny silhouette with scarlet hair was sitting in baggy clothes on a parapet with her back to Jenny.

"_Erin, what're you doing here?"_ She asked coming closer to the girl. Erin didn't turn her head. Blows of smoke were floating in the air above girl's head. _"Are you smoking?"_ Jenny was taken aback. She took furiously the cigarette from the tiny hand and pressed it down with her boot.

"_Hey! What the hell!"_ the girl hissed. _"You're what, Mother Teresa? It's none of your f…..g business what I do. Yes, I'm smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. What do you want from me?"_ Erin stared at her angrily.

This time Jenny saw that girl's face was a mess: _"My God, Erin! Who did this to you?" _She made a step to look better at girl's face and spread her hand to touch it, but Erin evaded Jenny's hand. _"Is that Toby?"_

"_No! Why on Earth did you tell his father about that bet? Wanted to play mommy! What do you want from us, huh?" _Erin yelled.

"_Toby beat you up, wasn't he? I'll make him pay!" _

"_It wasn't Toby! His dad beat him up after that conversation with you! You wanted it, right? You, adults, always want to show us how powerful you are, but you can't even solve your own problems! Do you think we can? Do you think that all your crap you should pour on us? Is it fair?" _the girl stood up. She was shaking and fighting the tears forming in her eyes.

"_Erin, I'm sorry. I didn't know…"_ She apologized coming closer to the kid. The girl wanted to get away. Jenny grabbed her and hugged her, pressing the child's head closer to her chest. _"Shhh. I'm sorry. Tell me, who did this?" _ She heard girl murmured through the sobs: _"My mom!"_ Jenny held her tight while the kid was crying. She thought how horrible it was when your own mother didn't care at all. Her dad did everything for her, when mom died. The life was a crap, she was sure of this truth.

Erin freed from Jenny's embrace and started to rub her eyes to wipe the tears away.

"_Oh my!"_ the girl said looking at Jenny's coat. Her lips cracked when she was sobbing and a small stain of blood now covered the woman's coat. _"I'm sorry…"_

Jenny didn't give a damn: _"Don't worry. I'll wash it. Come on, we have to stop that bleeding and take care of the bruises."_

That day Erin spent in Reilly's diner. The girl wanted to help Jenny but the woman refused her help. She sent the kid upstairs in the room, gave her some books to read and brought her lunch. Her father wasn't excited to see the red-head in his diner, but he didn't say anything.

In the evening girl thanked Jenny.

"Hey, you can stay." Jenny told the kid.

"_No, thanks for everything. I have to go. I need to know how she is."_ Erin shrugged her shoulders.

"_Fine. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow. Be careful."_ Jenny said.

"_Okay, bye."_

"_See ya."_ Woman run her hand over girl's head and Erin left.

After that, Jenny went to talk to Tommy about Samson and her stupid mistake. The conversation wasn't the best one, though she thought to herself that things could be worse. Sometimes the reality was ugly and nobody could make it better…


End file.
